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Every year, the number of cybersecurity incidents increases. As a result, cybersecurity is a top priority for companies, now more than ever. But how do organizations arm themselves and which priorities do they set along the way? Proximus teamed up with Proximus SpearIT, Davinsi Labs, Telindus Nederland and Telindus Luxemburg to gain insights from CEOs, CIOs, and other key decision makers.

Research Report

6 conclusions of the research report

Large enterprises

>250 employees

SME

<250 employees

I don't know

No

Yes

Has your company been forced to deal with cybersecurity incidents in the past 12 months?

Of the respondents who were aware of a cyberattack, 68% recorded one to five incidents. Nearly one out of ten companies had experienced over ten attacks.

Remarkably, in 22% of cases, those who have not detected incidents also have no insight into whether attacks have been neutralized or not.

The number of incidents detected

84% of large companies express concerns about the potential for cybersecurity incidents to occur within their own organizations. That figure is 70% for SMEs. Companies who have reported a cybersecurity incident in the past year express greater concern (about repeat attacks) than their counterparts who have not. Consequently, concerns here also rose in the past year.

Major concerns about repeat attacks

1 - 5

6 - 10

Unknown / not quantifiable

>10

How many cybersecurity incidents have been detected within your organization in recent months?

Big businesses most frequently hit 

The number of big businesses (+250 employees) subject to cybersecurity incidents is significantly higher than the share experienced by small and medium-sized companies (10 to 249 employees). 60% of respondents at the big players (e.g. over 2,000 employees) reported an incident within the past 12 months. That trend could be attributable to better tracing at large companies or a higher frequency of incidents due to a larger attack surface.

(*) Any event or operation, e.g., ransomware, phishing, DDoS attacks, that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of an organization’s information systems and leads to loss of productivity, legal repercussions, reputational damage, data loss, etc.

Digital transformation creates loads of opportunities, but it also exposes businesses to new cyberattacks. We teamed up with five business partners to identify 2023’s key trends and threats.

I don't know

No

Yes

32% of respondents knew a cybersecurity incident* had occurred within their organization in 2022. This figure is nearly as high as last year’s. Of those who said that the company had remained incident-free, 15% were not entirely convinced or were not sure at all whether their response was correct.

1 in 3 companies was forced to deal with at least one cybersecurity incident in 2022.

**Respondents could select more than one cause.

Intentional incident

Accidental incident

I don't know

Combination

What types of incidents affected your organization?

Laptops / desktops
Servers 
I don't know
Mobile devices 
Office equipment (printers, access points, cameras, etc.)
Machines (industrial/operational technology)
Cloud applications 
Network infrastructure 

What kind of devices? 

Of accidental incidents, the most frequent to occur (38%) were unauthorized activities, e.g. app downloads or sharing company data without permission. Data breaches also made up a significant share of accidental incidents (34%).

Respondents also reported incidents due to software bugs and misconfigurations in addition to regulatory infractions, including GDPR violations.

The biggest victims were laptops and desktops (33%). However, servers (20%) and cloud applications (12%) were also major targets.

Accidental cybersecurity incident types

2022’s top 3 intentional cybersecurity incidents

1.    Social engineering (22%)
2.    Ransomware (15%)
3.    Malware (13%)

Implementing company-wide cloud security and getting all the actors on board is the message.

To prevent social engineering, it is essential that your company manages digital identities well. This way you protect the access to your network, your data, and the applications of your organization.

Companies recorded both intentional and accidental incidents. 29% of cases involved a combination of the two. Zooming in on incident** attribution, we see that social engineering, e.g. spear phishing, makes up the lion’s share of intentional attacks. Ransomware and malware, such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, complete the triumvirate.

Companies are affected by intentional and accidental incidents

Less than a week

Between 1 and 4 weeks

I don't know

Between 3 and 6 months

Between 1 and 3 months

When did you notice the incident compared to the estimated time of breach?

Inactivity with incidents has risen by 21% compared to 2020

It is worth noting that there is a sharp increase in inactivity among respondents who were victims of one or more cyber incidents. In 2020, 9% of companies and organizations had employees unable to work for some period of time. This happened to 30% of victims last year.

Almost three out of four respondents subject to a cybersecurity incident think they noticed it within a week of the breach. A span of three to six months was only the case for 1%. That is quite a feat, given that cybersecurity experts say that rogue hacker groups actually stick around in their target’s infrastructure for longer.

Half of incidents surface due to internal tracing. In 36% of cases, a combination of internal mechanisms, third-party notifications, and service provider notifications make the discovery.

When is an incident noticed?

Who detects the incidents?

Yes

No

I don't know

Did one or more incident(s) prevent some of your employees from getting their work done?

Thirty percent of incidents result in downtime. When that happens, an average of 28% of workers cannot get their jobs done. That downtime lasts over a week in 19% of cases.

A third of all cybersecurity incidents lead to employee downtime

2022

2021

Own IT personnel

IT partner / MSSP

Nobody

Both

Who manages / monitors your security infrastructure?

Less internal management
Companies are taking security infrastructure management less into their own hands. They rely more often on a partner or a combination of in-house staff with an IT partner or Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP). 

36% of surveyed organizations experience a shortage of experts in their cybersecurity departments. Large corporations are in the direst straits (46%). Six in ten companies rely partially or fully on external partner services for their cybersecurity infrastructure management.

Shortage of IT specialists

When did the company go back to normal?

In most cases, the effects did not last longer than a day (60%). For 9% of incidents, the impact trailed on for more than a month.

10,000 euros or less

Between 10,000 and 100,000 euros

Over 100,000 euros

Could you estimate the total financial impact of the incidents on your company in euros?

Nearly half of cybersecurity incidents have a financial impact. Those costs are primarily linked to incident reporting, reduced productivity, and reputational damage (12%).

Of incident victims, nearly half knew the financial impact. 37% paid over EUR 10,000, with 11% exceeding the EUR 100,000 mark.

Incidents often result in a hefty bill

Greater sense of urgency among affected organizations

Companies that experienced an incident in the past year experience a greater sense of urgency and need. For this segment, 63% already have a strategy, and almost one in three businesses have one in the works. Consequently, a total of 92% of previously affected respondents have a cyber strategy in development.

More and more companies organize awareness training for their employees several times a year. And we see this in our respondents' results as well. In 2020, 30% of companies organized multiple awareness trainings for employees. In 2022, that percentage increased by 7%.

Sensibility training is increasing

Yes

No

I don't know

In development

Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?

Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?

A cybersecurity response procedure details the steps an organization should take when an incident occurs. A similar mechanism is already in place or in the works at 70% of all organizations. Once again, that percentage is highest for enterprises that experienced an incident last year.

Yes

No

I don't know

In development

Does your company have a cybersecurity strategy?                    

The foundation of an advanced risk policy is a good cybersecurity incident management strategy. Such a strategy is in place in 53% of companies. A strategy is in the works among nearly a quarter of those surveyed. In contrast, 14% report that they have not tackled the issue yet.

Cybersecurity strategy in development

Cyber resilience is a critical requirement of business continuity. Read the 5 tips indispensable for every organization.

Large enterprises

>250 employees

SME

<250 employees

Never

Once a year

Several times a year

How often do your employees receive cybersecurity awareness training?

Employee awareness raising is a critical first line of defense against the rising tide of cybercrime and Internet fraud, like social engineering. And yet, almost four out of ten companies do not conduct any cybersecurity awareness training. For SMEs, the figure is even as high as 46.5%. Nearly half of large enterprises (48.1%) organize more than one workshop a year.

Awareness raising still is not the gold standard

  • Awareness raising (25.9%)
  • Cybersecurity policy and strategy (18.6%)
  • Mature IT security (17.9%), inter alia, by developing current security measures

Priorities for the next twelve months include:

2023 priorities

Remained about the same

Strongly increased  (+20%)

I don't know

Significantly reduced (-20%)

How has your organization’s cybersecurity budget evolved?

22% of respondents had boosted their cybersecurity budget by over 20% in the past year. Big companies demonstrated the most substantial increase, with one in three respondents reporting a significant budget increase.

1 in 5 raises cybersecurity budget

What are ICT decision makers worried about? What is the best strategy for addressing their challenges? Danielle Jacobs, Beltug CEO, and Christophe Crous, VP Segment of Industries at Proximus, share their insights about ICT in tumultuous times.

Secure your company in 4 steps

Discover Proximus’ 360° approach to securing your organization. Choose what works for you, from covering specific areas to an all-inclusive service.

Digitalks Podcast

A podcast on cybersecurity with new insights, tips and best practices from experts.

Every year, the number of cybersecurity incidents increases. As a result, cybersecurity is a top priority for companies, now more than ever. But how do organizations arm themselves and which priorities do they set along the way? Proximus teamed up with Proximus SpearIT, Davinsi Labs, Telindus Nederland and Telindus Luxemburg to gain insights from CEOs, CIOs, and other key decision makers.

Research Report

6 conclusions of the research report

(*) Elke gebeurtenis of actie zoals ransomware, phishing, DDoS-aanvallen, enzovoort die de vertrouwelijkheid, integriteit en beschikbaarheid van de informatiesystemen van een organisatie hebben beïnvloed, en heeft geleid tot productiviteitsverlies, juridische gevolgen, reputatieschade, gegevensverlies, enzovoort.

I don't know

No

Yes

Has your company been forced to deal with cybersecurity incidents in the past 12 months?

Large enterprises

>250 employees

SME

<250 employees

The number of incidents detected

84% of large companies express concerns about the potential for cybersecurity incidents to occur within their own organizations. That figure is 70% for SMEs. Companies who have reported a cybersecurity incident in the past year express greater concern (about repeat attacks) than their counterparts who have not. Consequently, concerns here also rose in the past year.

Digital transformation creates loads of opportunities, but it also exposes businesses to new cyberattacks. We teamed up with five business partners to identify 2023’s key trends and threats.

1 - 5

6 - 10

Unknown / not quantifiable

>10

How many cybersecurity incidents have been detected within your organization in recent months?

Of the respondents who were aware of a cyberattack, 68% recorded one to five incidents. Nearly one out of ten companies had experienced over ten attacks.

Remarkably, in 22% of cases, those who have not detected incidents also have no insight into whether attacks have been neutralized or not.

Major concerns about repeat attacks

The number of big businesses (+250 employees) subject to cybersecurity incidents is significantly higher than the share experienced by small and medium-sized companies (10 to 249 employees). 60% of respondents at the big players (e.g. over 2,000 employees) reported an incident within the past 12 months. That trend could be attributable to better tracing at large companies or a higher frequency of incidents due to a larger attack surface.

Big businesses most frequently hit 

I don't know

No

Yes

32% of respondents knew a cybersecurity incident* had occurred within their organization in 2022. This figure is nearly as high as last year’s. Of those who said that the company had remained incident-free, 15% were not entirely convinced or were not sure at all whether their response was correct.

1 in 3 companies was forced to deal with at least one cybersecurity incident in 2022.

Implementing company-wide cloud security and getting all the actors on board is the message.

Laptops / desktops
Servers 
I don't know
Mobile devices 
Office equipment (printers, access points, cameras, etc.)
Machines (industrial/operational technology)
Cloud applications 
Network infrastructure 

What kind of devices? 

** Respondenten konden verschillende oorzaken aanduiden. 

Intentional incident

Accidental incident

I don't know

Combination

What types of incidents affected your organization?

To prevent social engineering, it is essential that your company manages digital identities well. This way you protect the access to your network, your data, and the applications of your organization.

Of accidental incidents, the most frequent to occur (38%) were unauthorized activities, e.g. app downloads or sharing company data without permission. Data breaches also made up a significant share of accidental incidents (34%).

Respondents also reported incidents due to software bugs and misconfigurations in addition to regulatory infractions, including GDPR violations.

The biggest victims were laptops and desktops (33%). However, servers (20%) and cloud applications (12%) were also major targets.

Accidental cybersecurity incident types

1.    Social engineering (22%)
2.    Ransomware (15%)
3.    Malware (13%)

2022’s top 3 intentional cybersecurity incidents

Companies recorded both intentional and accidental incidents. 29% of cases involved a combination of the two. Zooming in on incident** attribution, we see that social engineering, e.g. spear phishing, makes up the lion’s share of intentional attacks. Ransomware and malware, such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, complete the triumvirate.

Companies are affected by intentional and accidental incidents

Half of incidents surface due to internal tracing. In 36% of cases, a combination of internal mechanisms, third-party notifications, and service provider notifications make the discovery.

Who detects the incidents?

Almost three out of four respondents subject to a cybersecurity incident think they noticed it within a week of the breach. A span of three to six months was only the case for 1%. That is quite a feat, given that cybersecurity experts say that rogue hacker groups actually stick around in their target’s infrastructure for longer.

When is an incident noticed?

Less than a week

Between 1 and 4 weeks

I don't know

Between 3 and 6 months

Between 1 and 3 months

When did you notice the incident compared to the estimated time of breach?

Yes

No

I don't know

Did one or more incident(s) prevent some of your employees from getting their work done?

It is worth noting that there is a sharp increase in inactivity among respondents who were victims of one or more cyber incidents. In 2020, 9% of companies and organizations had employees unable to work for some period of time. This happened to 30% of victims last year.

Inactivity with incidents has risen by 21% compared to 2020

Thirty percent of incidents result in downtime. When that happens, an average of 28% of workers cannot get their jobs done. That downtime lasts over a week in 19% of cases.

A third of all cybersecurity incidents lead to employee downtime

2022

2021

Own IT personnel

IT partner / MSSP

Nobody

Both

Who manages / monitors your security infrastructure?

10,000 euros or less

Between 10,000 and 100,000 euros

Over 100,000 euros

Could you estimate the total financial impact of the incidents on your company in euros?

84% van de grote bedrijven uit zijn bezorgdheid over cybersecurityincidenten die zich binnen hun organisatie kunnen manifesteren. Bij de kmo’s (in Nederland: mkb) gaat het om 70%. Wie het voorbije jaar een cybersecurityincident heeft gesignaleerd, toont zich in grotere mate bezorgd dan organisaties waar dat niet het geval was. De bekommernis is in dat geval het voorbije jaar ook toegenomen.

Van de respondenten die zich bewust zijn van een cyberincident, registeert 68% één tot vijf incidenten. Bij bijna één op tien bedrijven gaat het om meer dan tien feiten. Opmerkelijk: wie geen incidenten detecteert, heeft in 22% van de gevallen geen zicht op de al dan niet geneutraliseerde aanvallen.

Grote zorgen om opnieuw slachtoffer te worden

In most cases, the effects did not last longer than a day (60%). For 9% of incidents, the impact trailed on for more than a month.

When did the company go back to normal?

Nearly half of cybersecurity incidents have a financial impact. Those costs are primarily linked to incident reporting, reduced productivity, and reputational damage (12%).

Of incident victims, nearly half knew the financial impact. 37% paid over EUR 10,000, with 11% exceeding the EUR 100,000 mark.

Incidents often result in a hefty bill

Companies that experienced an incident in the past year experience a greater sense of urgency and need. For this segment, 63% already have a strategy, and almost one in three businesses have one in the works. Consequently, a total of 92% of previously affected respondents have a cyber strategy in development.

Greater sense of urgency among affected organizations

More and more companies organize awareness training for their employees several times a year. And we see this in our respondents' results as well. In 2020, 30% of companies organized multiple awareness trainings for employees. In 2022, that percentage increased by 7%.

Sensibility training is increasing

A cybersecurity response procedure details the steps an organization should take when an incident occurs. A similar mechanism is already in place or in the works at 70% of all organizations. Once again, that percentage is highest for enterprises that experienced an incident last year.

Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?

Yes

No

I don't know

In development

Does your company have a cybersecurity strategy?                    

The foundation of an advanced risk policy is a good cybersecurity incident management strategy. Such a strategy is in place in 53% of companies. A strategy is in the works among nearly a quarter of those surveyed. In contrast, 14% report that they have not tackled the issue yet.

Cybersecurity strategy in development

Large enterprises

>250 employees

SME

<250 employees

Never

Once a year

Several times a year

How often do your employees receive cybersecurity awareness training?

Cyber resilience is a critical requirement of business continuity. Read the 5 tips indispensable for every organization.

Yes

No

I don't know

In development

Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?

Employee awareness raising is a critical first line of defense against the rising tide of cybercrime and Internet fraud, like social engineering. And yet, almost four out of ten companies do not conduct any cybersecurity awareness training. For SMEs, the figure is even as high as 46.5%. Nearly half of large enterprises (48.1%) organize more than one workshop a year.

Awareness raising still is not the gold standard

What are ICT decision makers worried about? What is the best strategy for addressing their challenges? Danielle Jacobs, Beltug CEO, and Christophe Crous, VP Segment of Industries at Proximus, share their insights about ICT in tumultuous times.

  • Awareness raising (25.9%)
  • Cybersecurity policy and strategy (18.6%)
  • Mature IT security (17.9%), inter alia, by developing current security measures

Remained about the same

Strongly increased  (+20%)

I don't know

Significantly reduced (-20%)

How has your organization’s cybersecurity budget evolved?

Priorities for the next twelve months include:

2023 priorities

22% of respondents had boosted their cybersecurity budget by over 20% in the past year. Big companies demonstrated the most substantial increase, with one in three respondents reporting a significant budget increase.

1 in 5 raises cybersecurity budget

Digitalks Podcast

A podcast on cybersecurity with new insights, tips and best practices from experts.

Secure your company in 4 steps

Discover Proximus’ 360° approach to securing your organization. Choose what works for you, from covering specific areas to an all-inclusive service.